Strange example you choose, since I've often used the term 'rape' to describe the feeling I get having to pay what I do in license and registration fees ... particularly given that 'freedom of travel' is one of the cornerstones of the bill of rights (right up there with personal security (the right not to be raped)).
But more seriously, and do at least think through the example, how is a rape any more terrible than a violent mugging, with sex? Sex in and of itself isn't a violent act. People get mugged all the time, and while for some it's a terrible trauma, most simply shrug it off and get on with their lives. Indeed, many rapes never get reported because the females treat it exactly as that:non-consensual sex. But the moment the word Rape is used .... the act is treated as one of supreme personal invasion, an act worthy of the death penalty in many people's eyes. And while I'm sure that's the way it should be in a puritanical world, the world's not that puritanical anymore. In a culture where a woman's value is based on her ability to keep her knees shut for anyone 'cept her husband, rape would be the ultimate in loss of personal esteem. But that hardly describes the western world today, wouldn't you agree? Indeed, the trauma (as I see it) seems to centre less on the act of penetration, and more about the lack of choice.
edit: I just noticed one other thing .. the name used .... rape survivors. Isn't survivor a term usually associated with living through an event with a high fatality rate? Last time I looked, neither sex nor rape is all that likely to kill either party.
